Mumbai Indians, one of the most successful franchises in IPL history, have won the title five times. Their golden era was shaped under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, who played a pivotal role in bringing glory to the franchise. Known for their balanced squad and ability to perform under pressure, MI continues to be a dominant force.

In a recent interview, Hardik Pandya named Mumbai Indians as his favorite IPL team and also revealed his all-time top three MI players—unsurprisingly, Rohit Sharma featured on that list, reflecting the immense impact he has had on the team’s success. It is to be kept in mind that all five of the IPL trophies that MI have won, have all come under the leadership of Rohit. 

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The interaction session has been released on the internet and started to gain attention from the cricket fans. The 5-time IPL title holder Mumbai Indians brought back Hardik a couple of seasons back in search of a new leader who can replace Rohit Sharma. Pandya was an integral part of MI's four out of five IPL triumphs. Hardik, without any hesitation, said that Mumbai Indians always remain his favorite team. In his words, "Getting picked by the Mumbai Indians was even more special because Mumbai was always my favorite team." Pandya even shared some of his all-time great players names who played for the Mumbai-based franchise.

"I had a wallpaper on my phone of Sachin Tendulkar, Sir, Harbhajan Singh, and I think Malinga's (Lasith Malinga) face was there, so I've always been a Mumbai fan, and obviously then getting the opportunity to come and play for this franchise was even more special, and obviously my journey started from there," Pandya said during a Star Sports interview. 

𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐤 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐈! 💙@hardikpandya7 shares the emotional moment of being picked by @mipaltan and reveals he still has wallpapers of his MI idols.

Will Hardik deliver a match winning all-round performance vs #RCB?#IPLonJioStar 👉… pic.twitter.com/Q4z3SLjwY1

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 7, 2025

Hardik Pandya's second stint with Mumbai Indians 

Pandya did not have a good start with his dream franchise team as a captain. The team experienced a rare rock-bottom situation in the last season. This time, in IPL 2025, the former champion team is not in a comfortable situation after 4 games. The team has registered only one victory so far and 3 losses. Mumbai Indians are ready to face Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Wankhede Stadium today at 7.30 pm. MI will have to try their best to win the match and make a comeback to the title race.

On a personal level, the tournament has been a mix bag for the MI skipper. There have been several instances in where his captaincy has been under scanner and scrutiny. But with the ball in hand, the star all rounder has been a league apart. In the 3 matches so far, the skipper has scalped 8 wickets at an economy rate of 7.50 and an average of 9.37 which is very commendable.